Today's Quilter 60

What cheers up a grey day... besides a good quilt? A splash of colour! And this issue is certainly embracing that ethos. We have bright, bold quilts in an array of tones from our cover star Nicola Dodd’s Paradise Found quilt (with a name like that it’s difficult not to smile!) to Jo Avery’s Moroccan Magic, an evocative design featuring reds and blues in different tones. The beauty of colour is that you can take a design and use whatever fabrics in whatever combinations you want, to change up the feel and look of a project. Nicola Dodd started off with a Union Star block and, with some clever colour placement, the block was transformed into an exotic flower, before changing again into a Bird of Paradise... all from playing…

Carolyn Forster FABULOUS FRAMES Carolyn has taken her favourite elements of North Country Frame quilts to create this scrappy masterpiece on page 58. Anne Williams DAY-TRIPPING Anne visits five quilt and textiles collections around the UK, which have a wealth of inspiration waiting to be discovered. Turn to page 44. Yasmeen K Branton HAND APPLIQUÉ New to the Today’s Quilter family, Yasmeen has created a stunning design that will keep your hands busy with pretty appliqué. See page 77.…

THE QUILT HOPKINS QUILT Today’s Quilter contributor, Deirdre Bond-Abel, designed this gorgeous sampler quilt, made using seven different traditional blocks, repeated several times to give a lovely scrappy look. “Pink and green prints together are a favourite combination of mine so I used different tones for the zigzags,” she says. We love green in quilts too, so this has definitely become a favourite design on our to-do list. To buy the pattern for the Hopkins Quilt, or any other Hat Creek Quilt sdesigns, visit Deirdre’s website www.hatcreekquilts.com.au THE FABRIC ENCHANTED Kona cotton solid Colour of the Year 2020 is Enchanted, and this delightful teal green from Robert Kaufman Fabrics is sure to have you dreaming of long sunny days surrounded by nature. Kona cotton solids, which come in more than…

COMMON THREADS Meeting of minds Formed in Suffolk in 2006, this group of embroiderers and quilters met while studying for their City & Guilds qualification and decided to form Out Of The Fold. The enthusiastic group of 12 meet regularly to offer mutual support and to exchange ideas and skills. Many of their members have been successful in winning challenges and competitions and they are actively involved in offering talks and workshops throughout the UK. Their latest exhibition has two themes: ‘Drawn Threads’ and ‘Celebrating 1,000 years of Bury Abbey’, as the Abbey was established in 1020. The exhibition is taking place in the beautifully restored Guildhall in Bury St. Edmunds, which has a café on site, making this the perfect destination for a spring stitch outing. Out Of The…

A labour of love and Liberty I loved making this Block of the Month sampler quilt from Carolyn Forster’s series! The plan was to use a hoard of Liberty fabric I already had so that I didn’t have to buy any more. I also used my own quilting design to finish it off. Denise, via email Stunning work, Denise! We’re sure Carolyn will be delighted to see this one. Healing practice My son Patrick died in an accident 22 years ago but, of course, to me it seems like yesterday. Earlier in that year I had started a basic City and Guilds Soft Furnishings course. Part of the work was to make a Cathedral Windows cushion. I could not get to grips with this at all. However, the Christmas following…

A Sense of Time and Place Until 26th April 2020, Milton Keynes A lovely contemporary exhibition of textiles by the Art2Stitch Group featuring post-war architecture and ‘places’. See website for opening times and for more information. The Milton Keynes Museum and Gallery, McConnell Drive, Wolverton MK12 5EL miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk 01908 265 725 Beckenham Quilters Biennial Exhibition, Region 2 21st March, Kent An exhibition celebrating 40 years at Beckenham Methodist Church. Refreshments and traders available on the day. Admission price includes catalogue. Children and students go free. 10:00-16:00 / £4 Beckenham Methodist Church, Bromley Road, Beckenham, Kent BR3 5JE www.beckenhamquilters.co.uk Broughton Gifford Piecemakers Quilt Exhibition 27th-28th March, Broughton Gifford An exhibition of the group’s work plus trader stand, sales table and refreshments. There will be a raffle in aid of Wiltshire Air…